A Tale of Two : A Zutara Fanfic
by PandaLilies
Summary: It's been a full year since the end of the war, and the dreariness of ordinary life is hitting Katara hard. She knows there is something missing, something not quite right. On the other side of the world, Zuko too is feeling an emptiness within himself that he cannot seem to dissuade. Aang in the meantime, is suffering from horrific dreams involving a certain face-stealing spirit..


**A/N - Hi guys! (Or random stragglers who come across this fic - you rule) Soo, I'm Alif, aaand welcome to my first ever fanfic! Squee! Okay, so, I've got a basic plot line in my head, more or less..but we'll see how it goes. I'll try and be decent at updating, but I might suck a little, just bc school and craziness and all the rest. But expect the next chapter in the next two weeks! Also, apologies if there are any awful spelling mistakes in here...anyway, enjoy, and please PLEASE review. They make my day. Like literally. I sit and scream.**

**** First two reviewers - THANK YOU GUYS YOU ARE AWESOME AND WONDERFUL AND THANK YOU. Omg also people have actually followed and favorited this fic! :O You guys! Thank you! Asdfghjkl x**

I couldn't sleep.

From my bed, I could see the moon through my window, quietly dripping its light all over the glassy snow and splashing gently onto my pillow. I felt oddly ethereal in the silence of the full moon...it was peaceful. Far more peaceful then I had been in a long time. I sighed, snuggling my face into the fur cover, closing my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me.

But it wouldn't.

Instead, my mind drifted to my friends. I missed them so much. Since the end of the war, I had known that things were going to change, and that our little family was going to have to go their separate ways. But all the same, in the few months apart from one another, I felt myself aching to hear Toph call me 'Sugar Queen' and shout at me for being too overbearing, for Sokka to talk endlessly about the infinite needs of his stomach, for Appa and Momo to groan and chatter with each other, for Suki to wink at me mischievously whenever she saw me looking at Aang - …and Aang. The Avatar. My boyfriend.

I shivered.

That is what he was, after all, my boyfriend. In fact, he happened to be in the very next room from me. He had decided to accompany me to the South Pole to visit Sokka and my dad to help with the rebuilding of the tribe, and we were staying in the ice mansion my father had created for his honoured guests. We were indeed guests. The Avatar and his girlfriend, otherwise known as Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, Waterbending Master. But no one called me that so much anymore. Like I said, things had changed.

I buried my face under the covers and breathed heavily. After a few seconds though, I was feeling suffocated and restrained, and I could bear it no longer. Sleep was obviously evading me tonight. I threw back the covers and sat up, my back leaning on the ice wall. As soon as my head was off the pillow, I realised the moon was permeating me with that familiar feeling of control, and suddenly I understood why I couldn't sleep. This was not a time for a waterbender to sleep.

I stared round the wonderfully familiar room my father had created, russet coloured skins hanging on the large walls, and soft bronze furs lining the cold, hard floor. Pillars stood in each corner of the room, beautifully crafted with intricate patterns carved into the frozen ice – the handiwork of my father's warriors no less. I however thought these details an unnecessary extravagance. Those of the Southern Water tribe saw beauty every day, in the rose tinted sun light hitting the powdery snow, in the lone blade of utterly green grass poking its way out of the white to remind us of all the life around us, in the craggy glass glaciers crowning our lands. We didn't need to embellish the nature that was our home.

But my father insisted. It was the guest house, and it was where the Earth Kings and the Fire Lord were going to be coming to stay. The Fire Lord. Fire Lord Zuko. I rolled the words around my mouth noiselessly, feeling them odd and broken. Zuko. Zuko…I missed him terribly. More than I thought I ever would. Occasionally, his sculpted face would appear in my dreams, those molten eyes seemingly able to see right through me. I shuddered slightly. Every time I pictured his face in my mind, though, it was paired with the torturous sound of his shout before he threw himself in front of his sister's lightning to protect me. The memory was still haunting, and the feeling of dread still arose inside me every time I thought about it…

I shook my head, clearing it of all the sudden influx of pain, and lifted myself from the bed, my toes touching the deliciously cold floor with relish. I stood, and tiptoed to the carved door that opened onto the hallway.

I grabbed the fur boots that were by my door and pulled them on, shivering slightly. I then opened the door and walked noiselessly down the ornate and echoing hall toward the huge front entrance, and quietly pulled it open. I peered out at the newly rebuilt ice huts and buildings, feeling a breeze waft softly around my face, making the long brown hair framing my face flutter slightly. I smiled. The smell of seal blubber and ice greeted me, a kind of cold warmth that always seemed to remind me painfully of my mother.

I stood on the front steps and looked up, the moon staring back at me. 'Hello Yue', I whispered. She twinkled at me silently. 'Sokka's missing you, you know. He doesn't talk about it, but ever since Suki went back to Kyoshi Island, he's been so quiet. And then he left all of a sudden for the Northern Water Tribe with Dad, to "discuss ties" with them again. I think it's just an excuse to be close to where he last saw you. I think he misses Toph too…'.

I sighed and closed my eyes, swaying slightly, lazily lifting my hand and raising the snow around me into delightful little sculptures I had been practicing the day before, even more beautiful now with the moonlight both reflecting beautifully on the snow and allowing me so much more heady power – and then it happened. A scream sounded, shrill in the night air. But it was coming from the house. I whirled around and dashed inside, fear clutching at my chest as I burst into Aang's room, knowing immediately that it was him – and there he was, bolt upright, eyes widened grotesquely, fingers scrabbling at his sheets, an expression of pure terror carved into his otherwise cheerful face.

'Aang!' I cried, running over to the bed, grabbing the young monk and holding him close. 'Aang, what happened? Did you have the dream again? What's going on?' I gushed, shaking him a little, trying to make him speak. He seemed too frightened to open his mouth, so I gripped him bodily by the shoulders and shook vigorously, 'Aang! Snap out of it!' I could hear footsteps behind me now, as Gran-Gran came bursting into the scene, hair loopies swinging slightly, eyes wide. I had an almost impulsive urge to laugh when I saw her, but I stifled it and turned back to my boyfriend. He was looking at me now, so I knew he was at least lucid. 'Katara..?' he mouthed. I nodded. 'I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, I think I had the dream again...but I can't remember! It's all so fuzzy! And not in a good Appa way! Agh!' I hugged him as he shook slightly and pushed his face into my shoulder. I sighed.

Ever since the end of the war, Aang had been having these mysterious dreams that caused him to wake up in the middle of the night, shouting and screaming in terror. The first time it happened, it had just been the two of us. We were on our way to Omashu to meet some Earth Kingdom ambassadors, when, in the middle of the night, whilst we were sleeping in Appa's saddle, Aang awoke shrieking, with that same crazed expression on his face. He claimed he'd had a dream about Koh, the face stealer spirit that he had had to confront during the war – but this time, Koh had my face. I shuddered slightly as I thought about it I couldn't imagine what these awful dreams could mean...whatever it was; it was driving Aang crazy with terror.

Aang was now breathing into my shoulder, and seemed to be calming down somewhat. I turned to Gran-Gran awkwardly, and nodded at her, telling her she needn't worry and could go back to bed. She gave me an odd look as she surveyed us together, and then abruptly turned round and headed back down the hall. I shook my head. I loved my grandmother, but I do think she's a little mad.

Finally, Aang's breathing began to steady somewhat, and I pulled back slightly to look at him. 'Are you okay?' I whispered, watching his grey glisten bitterly with unshed tears. 'I..yes…I'm sorry Katara. I didn't mean to wake you. Did I wake you? You look beautiful. Katara, I really love you. I'm sorry.' His somewhat raspy voice shook through the darkness, still not fully a man's voice, and yet no longer a child's. I drew back further, and steadied myself. I could feel myself getting quietly angry, silently beginning to feel a familiar tightening of my chest and I braced myself slightly – it had happened a lot lately, and I didn't want to shout at or upset Aang, so I told him it was fine and hastily excused myself from his bedroom. I reached mine and slammed the door shut behind me, now fuming.

What was wrong with me? Why was I so angry? And why was it always somehow directed at Aang? ...I knew, really. I knew.

For the second time that night, I thought of Zuko. The tightening in my chest eased slightly. The way his eyes looked at me made me feel special, important. Aang didn't make me feel that way. He made me feel needed..which at first was fine. However, I sometimes felt that being able to need someone else was a luxury I have not been afforded. The unfairness of it all made me so helplessly frustrated.

My head then filled with the ambiguous face of Koh, this spirit that had ben tormenting my boyfriend for months. Did it mean something? And why..why, for the love of all the spirits, was he dreaming of Koh having MY face?

I sighed. I knew there was no point in fretting. If something was coming, then at least it would distract me of the weariness that I felt. Perhaps it would bring everyone back together again. Me, my brother, Toph, Suki, Zuko...eventually I eased off my furry boots and climbed into bed, comforted somewhat.

I dreamt of Zuko's eyes that night.


End file.
